Home Construction Research Articles

The Bottle House: Upcycling Plastic Bottles to Improve the Thermal Performance of Low-Cost Homes

Due to the effects of climate change, diminishing natural resources, and continuous urbanization, there is an increasing need for buildings to be more sustainable. This study explores the potential of upcycling plastic waste for the sustainable construction of low-cost homes in developing countries and contributes to filling the gap in existing studies regarding qualitative results of the in situ performance of buildings made from upcycled materials. This study compares the Bottle house with conventional buildings made of mud and cement. This study seeks to encourage the adoption of the bottle house concept for affordable housing by conducting a thermal comfort survey of its occupants. To obtain the thermal sensation vote (TSV) of the occupants, thermal comfort questionnaires were developed based on the seven-point ASHRAE thermal sensation scale. Additionally, a Testo 480 multifunction meter, which comprised an anemometer, radiant globe thermometer, air thermometer, and relative humidity probe, was used to calculate the predicted mean vote (PMV) concurrently. From the results of the TSV, mean votes of the participants of −2.0, 2.0, and 2.4 were observed for the bottle house, mud houses, and cement houses, respectively. In comparison, adjusted PMV mean values of 1.9, 2.1 and 2.1 were recorded for the bottle house, mud houses, and cement houses, respectively. The TSV and PMV results both indicate that the occupants of the bottle house felt more thermally comfortable when compared to occupants in the other dwellings. This can be attributed to the measures incorporated during the construction of the bottle house. Furthermore, the use of a simulation study helped proffer solutions to further improve the indoor temperatures of the buildings used in this study. The results of this paper will provide evidence of the prospects of upcycling plastic waste for construction and its impact on occupant’s thermal comfort when compared to conventional building materials.

Performance Analysis of Facial Image Feature Extraction Algorithm for Smart Home Security System Detection

Alongside the development of technology to facilitate multi-family security, security tools are also being developed. Smart home security is one of the very popular security tools in Indonesian home construction. The tool works automatically in real time and has no restrictions on environmental conditions. However, currently available tools still lack consistent accuracy and consistent performance. To solve this problem, the author proposes a smart home security system with an Arduino UNO-connected camera, two relay modules, a magnetic lock, and connecting to a home Internet of Things system. The methods used in the research for this thesis project were: 1. Literature review of ongoing Smart Home Security using facial image feature extraction algorithm research; 2. Deployment of Arduino UNO, 2 Relay Module, and Solenoid Lock; 3. The feature extraction algorithm used is Wavelet. The proposed method is expected to achieve an accuracy of 80% or more. The experimental results showed that the proposed prototype of this experiment achieved the accuracy of 85.7%. In addition to accuracy, there is also precision rate at 87.94%, recall rate at 87.56%, and f1-score rate at 87.28%

“Through Death’s Wilderness”: Malaria, Seminole Environmental Knowledge, and the Florida Wars of Removal

Abstract For more than fifty years the United States waged wars of removal in Florida against the Seminole Indians. This article unpacks how the Seminoles deployed their knowledge about Florida’s environment and, crucially, an understanding of American fears about Florida’s environment to resist removal and the loss of territory. Taking Seminole movement, home construction, and language and placing it in dialogue with sources from soldiers and settlers involved in the wars, this article reveals a new facet of Indigenous resistance to colonial violence, rooted in relationships with the natural world. Finally, this essay recasts disease in the history of Native North America as potentially liberatory, as different lifeways exposed different populations to mosquitoes and their diseases.

Electrical Injury-induced Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent cardiac arrhythmia with significant morbidity and mortality risks. Electrical shocks can elicit adverse cardiac effects, including arrhythmias, although AF following electrical injuries remains relatively rare. We present the case of a 45-year-old man who developed AF after accidentally touching a live cable carrying 220 volts during home construction. The patient exhibited palpitations and shortness of breath and was admitted to the emergency department. Electrocardiographic monitoring confirmed AF with an irregular heart rate of 106 bpm. Echocardiographic examination revealed AF with normal ejection fraction. Successful pharmacological cardioversion using digoxin restored normal sinus rhythm within 6 h. The mechanisms underlying AF after electrical injury are not fully understood, but they likely involve arrhythmogenic foci formation and alterations in cardiac ion channels. Prompt diagnosis and management are crucial, with digoxin proving effective in this case. AF is a rare but clinically significant occurrence following low-voltage electrical shocks. Early diagnosis and appropriate management are essential in resolving the arrhythmia and optimizing patient outcomes. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and risk factors associated with this rare occurrence and explore long-term outcomes and potential complications.

Study and calculation of the specific natural radioactivity of samples of Portland cement in Iraq using a high-purity germanium detector

In the current work, we used a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector to assess particular activity concentrations in Seventeen cement samples from various origins. The results have shown that the specific activity, for 226Ra, ranged from 10.6±0.7Bq/kg) in Sample No. 11 to(59.1±2.4Bq/kg)in Sample No 12, for 228Ac ranged from (6.6±1Bq/kg) in Sample No.9 to(10.5±1Bq/kg) in Sample NO.7, for 40K was ranged from (81.4±7.6Bq/kg) in Sample NO.12 to (209.5±14.1Bq/kg) in Sample No.7. The research demonstrates that the cement samples are safe to use in the construction of homes and do not offer any substantial sources of radiation hazard.

An interview with Amos Gitai on House

When the Lebanese playwright Wajdi Mouawad invited Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai to stage his documentary trilogy House (1980, 1998, 2005) at the Théâtre national de la Colline in 2023, geopolitical animosities made way for artistic solidarities. In this article and interview, I explore how Gitai’s play critiques the violent logics of home and homelands, exploring how a commandeered house in West Jerusalem plays host to the multidirectional memory of violent Jewish and Palestinian erasure. Stones become metonyms of the Israel–Palestine conflict: as they are quarried, chiselled, split, cemented, and erected, they testify to the construction of homes that also become tools of destruction, expulsion, and mutual ontological violence (Kotef, 2020). Drawing on an interview I conducted with Gitai in July 2023, and his Collège de France lectures from 2018 to 2019, I read his archaeological journey into the remains of this Arab-Jewish house as a call to hospitality (Derrida, 1997): troubling the subject positions of host and hostage that both underpin and impede a ‘chez soi’.

Assessment of natural radioactivity levels and potential radiological risks of commonly used building materials in Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka, India.

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the natural radioactivity and potential radiological risks of frequently used building materials in Uttara Kannada district. Using an High purity Germanium Detector (HPGe) detector-based gamma-ray spectrometer, the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K was determined. The activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the construction materials vary from 13.78±0.90 to 151.9±1.85, 14.21±0.80 to 207.72±2.9 and 55.26±1.20 to 1298.24±25Bqkg-1 with an average value of 40.57±1.37,60.13±1.70 and 425.38±4.75Bqkg-1 having a geometric mean of 33.07, 46.49 and 290.20Bqkg-1, respectively. The mean annual effective dose equivalent was found to be 0.68mSv y-1 and is less than the International Commission on Radiological Protection proposed acceptable limit of 1mSv y-1. The estimated radiological hazard parameters show that these building materials are safe to use in the construction of homes and do not offer a substantial source of radiation hazard.

Livelihood Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions of the world, rural communities have relied on diverse activities to earn income for their households to survive. These activities which are mostly informal, have provided casual and seasonal employment and livelihood opportunities for rural communities to cope during times of hunger and deprivation. Livelihood activities are comprised of capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. These include and are not limited to activities such as cropping and livestock rearing, gardening, street vending and home construction. Unfortunatly, in recent times, climate change has emerged as a challenge for not only the socio-economic setting of the poor communities, but for the whole sphere of living, particularly in rural areas. Climate Change is comprised of long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns leading to unprecedented high levels of temperatures, extreme episodes of flooding, heat waves and drought, just to mention but few. The complex nature within which rural income earning and livelihoods are found, and how such activities are in most cases depended on environmental charateristics and climatic condtitions, makes it difficult to persue, amid climate change. This theoretical paper discusses how innovation and entrepreneurship can be used to as adaptation measures for climate change. Two Case studies are used to demostrate the applicability of this assertion. The paper concludes that, for rural livelihoods to become economically viable, innovation need to be applied to build towards entrepreneuship development and climate change adaptation. The paper recommends planning and policy directives towards rural development planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Perceptions toward Upzoning: A Parcel-Level Analysis of Public Sentiments toward the Minneapolis 2040 Plan

Zoning change typically draws significant public opposition, especially when it facilitates the construction of multifamily homes. Yet, in recent years, new pro-density political constituencies have emerged who advocate for denser development. This article analyzes public sentiment toward the Minneapolis 2040 rezoning where pro-density forces were highly active and emerged victorious. After qualitatively coding public comments, we use spatial cluster analysis and ordinal regression to examine what factors predict pro-density sentiment. We find that pro- and anti-density constituents cluster differently in space and that a few parcel-level characteristics, notably house typology, are the best predictors of sentiment.

Smart Sewer Robot to Remove Blockages in Sewer

Background: Every system in the world is intelligent. The wastewater infrastructure is installed underground during the construction of homes and businesses. We set up lengthy, kilometers- long pipelines in the subsurface administrative architecture. However, due to the different discharges into pipelines from various sources, the pipeline typically becomes blocked. Methods: Due to their small dimensions, these blockages are challenging to clean. Knowing the cause of a blockage in the sewage pipeline is a problem because subterranean sewage pipelines are measured in kilometers. This study provides a response to this utilizing a moving underground vehicle for sewer pipes. Results: The robot is designed to provide assistance under difficult circumstances and to detect obstructions in sewer networks. Conclusion: This proposed robot model can be used to replace the conventional method of using manual foreagers to identify and remove obstructions.

Impact of population growth and housing development on the riverine environment: Identifying environmental threat and solution in the Wanggu River, Indonesia

Economic growth in the nickel mining sector in Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, has accelerated development and population in Kendari City. The impact of increased immigration, transmigration, and urbanization increases the problem of deforestation to support the construction of people's homes in urban areas will result in damage to the ecosystem of the Wanggu River, Kendari City. This research uses geomorphology, demography, and ecology approaches to identify natural conditions with aerial photographs and satellite images (Google earth) simulated using ArcGis version 10.8. Then, it simulates the potential impact of flooding and pollution of the river environment due to the construction of people's houses around the riverside buffer. The study's findings reveal a discernible correlation between population growth and the heightened risk of ecological degradation within the river environment. The expansion of residential housing exerts significant stress on the river environment, resulting in the degradation of riparian areas and an increase in the river's pollution load. This deterioration in geomorphological, demographic, and ecological conditions within the river system has a direct and adverse impact on the overall health of the river ecosystem. Moreover, the results of the dynamics system simulation unequivocally indicate that river pollution is a persistent concern, with detrimental consequences extending to the mangrove area situated at the mouth of the Wanggu River, notably affecting pollution in Kendari Bay. The improvement of the built river area is useful for improving the landscape function of the river area, preventing erosion, and self-restoration of cities with rivers for ecological restoration, urban planning, and ecological management of urban landscapes in semi-arid areas with high rainfall intensity.

Experimental Evaluation of New-Generation Waste Material as a Substitute in M-50 Concrete Mixes

The journey of concrete began around 600 BC, when the ancient Romans began widely using concrete for construction by mixing volcanic ash, lime, and seawater. Centuries later, it was in 1824 that Joseph Aspdin invented Portland cement by burning finely crushed chalk and clay until the carbon dioxide was eliminated. Between 1850 and 1880, Francois Coignet used Portland cement extensively for the first time in the construction of homes in England and France [17]. Since then, though there have been vast innovative leaps, improvements and inventions in the material used in construction, the construction industry is still heavily reliant on Portland cement and aggregates. This excessive use and mass dependence on concrete is now a concern for the construction industry as the natural resources used in concrete like sand and gravel are slowly being depleted. In addition, the environmental concerns relating to CO2 emissions from concrete have forced the industry to start looking for alternatives for the ingredients used in concrete.
 On the other hand, electronic waste, also known as electronic waste, is considered one of the harmful types of electronic waste in today’s new age world. Drinking water supplies are becoming polluted, and the environment and ecosystems are being impacted all around the world as a result of the unceasing increase of these technological wastes. Both of these current environmental issues can be mitigated to some extent by experimenting with and utilizing electronic waste materials in the construction industry. Along with traditional aggregate alternatives such as fly ash and rice husk ash, the industry is now experimenting with E-waste to determine if it can be a viable material for improving concrete strength and longevity.
 The primary objective of this research is to better understand the behavior of M-50 grade high strength concrete when coarse aggregate is replaced by E-waste plastics in staggered percentages. The strength of concrete containing E-waste plastic was tested at different time intervals after coarse aggregates were replacement with varying percentages of E-plastic waste by the volume range from 0 to 30 percentage. When compared to normal concrete, concrete with E-waste had comparable compressive, flexural, and tensile strength for 28 days up to a specified percentage of replacement. When the E-waste plastic component percentage is considerably high, however, there is a decline in strength after a certain point

An extended intelligent technique for multiple-attribute decision-making under single-valued neutrosophic sets and applications to sustainable development evaluation of rural ecotourism

With the development of society and the times, the socialist modernization cause in China is constantly developing, and the improvement of the economy has also driven the development of rural ecotourism industry in China. The unique natural terrain and cultural customs in rural areas have promoted the continuous development of local ecotourism industry, which has had a positive impact on the economic development of rural areas and not only solved the employment problem of the majority of the population in rural areas. It can also bring a continuous stream of economic benefits and continuously improve the living standards of local residents. Rural ecotourism refers to a rural tourism activity that takes place in rural areas, supported by the agricultural industry, and attracted by the rural environment and typical rural ecotourism resources, with the concept of ecotourism. Rural ecotourism mainly takes the form of rural scenery, agricultural participation, and folk experience, integrating sightseeing experience, cognition, and tourism activities. The main principles of rural tourism development are agricultural support, people-oriented, ecological protection, community participation, income feedback, and ecological home construction. The sustainable development evaluation of rural ecotourism is a classical multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) issue. In such paper, the generalized weighted Bonferroni mean (GWBM) operator and power average (PA) is constructed for MADM with single-valued neutrosophic sets (SVNSs). Then, the single-valued neutrosophic number power generalized BM (SVNNPGBM) operator is built and then the MADM decision methods are proposed based on the SVNNPGBM operator. Finally, an example for sustainable development evaluation of rural ecotourism and some comparative analysis were given to demonstrate the SVNNPGBM method.

Embodied Carbon in Australian Residential Houses: A Preliminary Study

Embodied carbon is a buzzword in the construction industry. Australia is committed to achieving Net Zero 2050 targets, and minimizing embodied carbon (EC) is inevitable. Owing to the population growth, there will be a significant demand for residential construction. Therefore, the material consumption in residential construction should be evaluated and proper strategies should be in place to minimize EC. The aim of this research is to undertake a preliminary study of EC in the Australian residential sector, with an emphasis on new residential home construction. This research presents a preliminary study on EC in residential buildings in Australia. Three case study residential buildings were used in this study. All three case studies are single -story residential units, with a gross floor area between 200 and 240 m2. One Click LCA software was used to calculate the EC. The EC of three case study residential homes is between 193 and 233 kgCO2e/m2. Based on the findings of this study, ‘other structures and materials’ contribute to a large amount of EC in residential construction. Concrete and aluminum are considered significant contributors to EC. Therefore, it is vital to either introduce low-EC material to replace aluminum windows or introduce various design options to minimize the use of aluminum in windows. There are various sustainable concretes available with low EC. It is essential to explore these low-EC concretes in residential homes as well. This research identifies the importance of adopting strategies to reduce the carbon impact from other sources, including concrete. It is also essential to consider the EC through transportation related to construction and promote locally sourced building materials in residential construction. Therefore, the results of this research indicate the necessity of reducing raw material consumption in Australian residential construction by implementing approaches such as a circular economy in order to circulate building materials throughout the construction supply chain and reduce raw material extraction.

Developing Land in Florida with Fire in Mind: Recommendations for Designers, Developers, and Decision-Makers

Fire protection is a necessary consideration when building homes and designing neighborhoods in Florida. The type, amount, and structure of vegetation surrounding the development and individual houses will affect the risk that homes will catch fire. Architects and developers can significantly reduce wildfire risk for those living and working in Florida by using fire-resistant materials and managing the landscape around developments. This publication details specific recommendations for planning and designing defensible developments, including wildfire mitigation planning, vegetation management, and home construction, and how to balance the risks with the costs of risk mitigation strategies.

Forest Policy of Ethiopia from 1990 to 2020: An Assessment of Contemporary Forest Management Approach and Its Impact on Local Livelihood

This paper reviews historical perspectives on deforestation, forest law and policy, and participatory forest management (PFM) in Ethiopia. The main aim of this review was to state historical trends in forestry policy and forestry laws since the 1990s as well as the impacts of PFM on forest status and local community livelihoods in Ethiopia. To achieve the objective, the paperwork reviewed theoretical concepts from many scientific studies, previous documents, published articles, institutional documents, and legislation, as well as findings on forest management approaches, trends in forest coverage, causes of forest degradation, and the PFM approach in Ethiopia. The framework of driving force, pressure, state, impact, and response (DPSIR) was used to evaluate the country’s forest resources. The forest policy before 1991 was a top-down management approach, which discouraged local people from having access to and benefiting from the forest resource and participating in forest conservation practices. During the transition period from the military to the federal government in 1991, most of the natural forest cover of the country was affected and degraded by the local communities until the transitional government passed state regulatory laws. The deforestation rate kept going up during the political transition period from 1987 to 1991 due to agricultural land expansion, settlement, and investment pressures. As an option, PFM was introduced in Ethiopia in the mid-1990s with the help of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, the new approach was not equally beneficial to the local people, like training, collecting non-timber forest products (wild coffee and spices), hanging traditional beehives in the forest, and providing firewood and round wood for home construction. The approach demands more finance, and it is run by NGOs. Therefore, the PFM’s success depends on the financial return that the local people secure from the natural forests.

Should we use natural gas in our homes? Risk perceptions from the U.S

Multiple municipalities in the U.S. have banned natural gas hook-ups in new home construction. Several state governments have pre-empted those bans. Yet little is known about public perceptions of natural gas appliances in the home. We used survey data to evaluate risk perceptions associated with natural gas appliances and investigate potential demographic and ideological effects on risk perceptions. We find little political polarization or “white male” effects, but those who are dissatisfied with indoor air quality and concerned about climate change have heightened risk perceptions. Overall, natural gas risk perceptions are low. However, as of late 2022, the health implications of natural gas use in the home and potential mitigation policy have entered public discourse, implying that these risks may become more salient and politically charged. We conclude by discussing implications for indoor environments and policy.

Epidemiology of shoulder dislocations presenting to United States emergency departments: An updated ten-year study.

Glenohumeral dislocation is a common injury that may predispose patients to chronic pain and instability. However, there is a paucity of current data available regarding the epidemiological trends of this injury. To provide an updated, comparative assessment of the epidemiology of shoulder dislocations presenting to emergency departments in the United States. We also sought to analyze patient demographic risk factors and consumer products associated with dislocation events. Data were obtained from the national electronic injury surveillance system database for glenohumeral dislocations between 2012 and 2021. Incidence, age, sex, and injury characteristics were analyzed using weighted population statistics as well as incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals (CI). In total, an estimated 773039 shoulder dislocations (CI: 640598-905481) presented to emergency rooms across the United States during the study period. The annual incidence rate was 23.96 per 100000 persons and the average patient age at the time of injury was 37.1 years. Significantly more male patients sustained dislocations than female patients (537189, 69.5%, vs 235834, 30.5%, P < 0.001). With regard to associated consumer products, sports and recreation equipment were involved in the highest proportion of incidents (44.31%), followed by home structures and construction materials (21.22%), and home furnishings, fixtures, and accessories (21.21%). Regarding product sub-groups, stairs, ramps, landings, floors was cited in the greatest number of cases (131745). The national annual incidence rate of glenohumeral dislocations throughout the study period was approximately 23.92 per 100000 persons. Male adolescents sustained the highest proportion of dislocations, with a peak incidence in age group 15-20 years, predominantly secondary to participation in sporting and recreational activities. Conversely, women experienced a relatively consistent incidence of dislocation throughout their lifespan. After age 63, the incidence rate of dislocations in females was found to surpass that observed in males.

Doing Home by Using Digital Assistive Technologies

Cordula Endter, Florian Fischer and Tobias Wörle provide a conceptual paper which explicitly focusses on the material-spa¬tial configuration of home in the use of digital assistive technologies by older people. The authors draw on praxeological approaches and the concept of domesticity to understand how »home« as a materi¬alised space of belonging and security is constituted in affective, mate¬rial, and spatial practices of technology use. They discuss these practices by describing critical incidents in the use of digital assistive technologies to provide further theoretical as well as methodological insights into the construction and acquisition of (smart) homes among older people.

Shadow Aspects of Russian-Chinese Relations: Ways of Prevention on the Territory of the Baikal Region

In the context of increased foreign policy and foreign economic aggression of foreign countries against Russia in connection with recent events, the preservation and development of economic relations between our country and friendly countries is of particular importance. Russia currently receives the most significant support within the framework of economic cooperation with the People's Republic of China. However, today there are significant challenges and threats to economic security in this area, both for the Russian state as a whole and for its subjects, including the Baikal region. The article considers three shadow aspects of Russian-Chinese relations in the Baikal region: illegal logging and export of forests to China; construction of tourist camps and private homes of Chinese citizens on agricultural lands and specially protected natural territories; shadow sale of natural minerals of the Baikal region to the People's Republic of China. The analysis of indicators confirming the presence of the shadow sector within the framework of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation in the Baikal region is carried out. The authors of the article propose ways to minimize the shadow component of Russian-Chinese relations in the field of forest management, land use and subsoil use in the studied subjects of the Russian Federation.